Pct. 1 Commissioner’s crew works to remove nails at Lake Conroe Park

By Jennifer Summer

Updated
5:50 pm CDT, Tuesday, June 19, 2018

Poncho Viniarski, with Montgomery County Precinct 1 Commissioner's Office, describes on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, damage that the bulkheads of Lake Conroe Park received during storms in the prior weeks. Nails that had been jutting from the wooden bulkhead were removed by the Commissioner's Office. less

Poncho Viniarski, with Montgomery County Precinct 1 Commissioner's Office, describes on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, damage that the bulkheads of Lake Conroe Park received during storms in the prior weeks. Nails ... more

Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

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Poncho Viniarski, with Montgomery County Precinct 1 Commissioner's Office, describes on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, damage that the bulkheads of Lake Conroe Park received during storms in the prior weeks. Nails that had been jutting from the wooden bulkhead were removed by the Commissioner's Office. less

Poncho Viniarski, with Montgomery County Precinct 1 Commissioner's Office, describes on Tuesday, June 19, 2018, damage that the bulkheads of Lake Conroe Park received during storms in the prior weeks. Nails ... more

Photo: Michael Minasi, Staff Photographer / Houston Chronicle

Pct. 1 Commissioner’s crew works to remove nails at Lake Conroe Park

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For two days, Montgomery County Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador’s staff worked to remove nails protruding from bulkheads along Lake Conroe Park after the second injury accident in two weeks.

The first incident happened on Memorial Day when a 13-year-old girl became stuck in the water at a bulkhead when her foot was impaled on two nails, according to law enforcement at the scene.

This past weekend, the Montgomery County Precinct 1 Constable’s Office Lake Division reported they received a 911 call on Saturday concerning an 8-year-old girl who became trapped in the water by a nail through the foot.

In both situations, the patients were transported from the scene, treated for injuries and expected to be OK. But, these two incidents called for swift action by Meador’s staff.

“Lake Conroe Park is the San Jacinto River Authority’s property but we are the operator,” Meador said. “The first incident on Memorial Day weekend, we thought it was an isolated incident but, with the second incident, we knew this was something we had to take care of immediately.”

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A young girl was rescued on Lake Conroe on Memorial Day after she became trapped in the water near a bulkhead, her foot impaled on nails. Media: Scott Engle/Montgomery County Police Reporter

Media: Scott Engle/Montgomery County Police Reporter

On Sunday, several of the Precinct 1 staff got into the water and pulled more than 100 nails from along the shoreline. On Monday, a dive team returned to check further down into the water to make sure all loose and protruding nails were removed.

The bulkhead lines the shore and serves as the barrier between the land and the water. A portion of the swimming area remains open while adjacent portions are closed while Precinct 1 continues to replace portions of the tops of the bulkheads damaged by storms.

Poncho Viniarski with Montgomery County Precinct 1 Commissioner’s Office was a part of the crew working to remove the nails and make sure park guests are safe in the future.

“We started working early on Sunday morning to remove the nails before swimmers arrived that day,” Viniarski said.

According to Meador, they could not see damage to the bulkheads from recent storms due to them being in the water and the water not being clear.

“The recent storms pulled a few of the boards off the bulkheads which left the protruding nails,” Meador said. “We believe we’ve removed all of the nails. We hate that this happened and will make sure it doesn’t again.”

“This is an issue that is all across the board with any bulkhead we have out there from all the storms, Harvey to all of the flooding over the 201 mark over the lake,” Cade said in a previous article with The Courier. “This moves bulkheads, this moves boards and knocks things loose. We pick up boards and almost full docks every day out of that water because it is such an ever-moving lake.

“It’s not just a problem at the park, it’s a problem everywhere,” Cade added. “This is one of the dangers of being in the lake and as my mom used to tell me, if you are down in water where you can’t see your feet, wear shoes. It’s just a part of being in the lake.”